Body Dysmorphic Disorder in an Existential Perspective

Abstract

The existential perspective understands body dysmorphic disorder as an experience of losing one’s relationship with the body, with time, and with one’s own subjectivity. This phenomenon is interpreted not only in clinical terms, but also as a form of existential separation in which the body ceases to be a lived space of being-in-the-world and instead becomes an object of scrutiny, criticism, and fear. Drawing on the ideas of Heidegger and Binswanger, as well as contemporary phenomenological research (Craythorne, 2022; Matos et al., 2023; Oliveira et al., 2024), the author argues that the source of suffering in body dysmorphic disorder lies not in the body itself, but in the relationship toward it — shaped by shame, self-criticism, and a lack of mindful presence. Reflection on impermanence, understood as the acceptance of the fragility and variability of human existence, may open a space for authentic contact with one’s body and for improving quality of life despite the persistence of the disorder.